Leah B. Foley United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts | Department of Justice
An emergency medical technician from Salem, Connor McAuliffe, was arrested and charged in Boston federal court with receipt and possession of child pornography. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, McAuliffe, 34, was taken into custody at his residence and appeared before a judge, who ordered him detained pending a hearing set for August 12.
Authorities allege that McAuliffe was identified as an active participant in a large encrypted messaging group dedicated to trading child sexual abuse material (CSAM), following an investigation by the South African Police Service in Pretoria. The group reportedly included more than 1,000 members worldwide. Investigators further allege that McAuliffe belonged to at least 14 other similar chat groups on the same application.
During a search of his home in March 2025, law enforcement seized McAuliffe’s cellphone. A forensic review allegedly showed he participated in about 100 chats across several messaging platforms devoted to CSAM. Some chat titles referenced boys between ages ten and sixteen or younger. Officials say roughly 1,500 images and 50 videos depicting CSAM were found on his device; some files allegedly depicted minor boys estimated to be nine to eleven years old being abused or exploited.
The charging documents state that McAuliffe holds an active paramedic certification from the Massachusetts Office of Health & Human Services and works as an EMT for an emergency services company.
If convicted on receipt of child pornography charges, McAuliffe faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years up to twenty years in prison, supervised release for at least five years, and fines up to $250,000. Possession charges carry up to twenty years imprisonment with similar supervised release requirements and fines. Sentencing will be determined by a federal judge according to applicable guidelines.
Members of the public seeking information about this case are encouraged to contact authorities at 617-748-3274 or USAMA.VictimAssistance@usdoj.gov.
“United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Salem Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Maynard of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.”
“This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.”
“The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.”
